A ReWrite of History
by JoshB
Summary: New story. working title. Rating will go up later. Harry/Hermione from start. Timetravel fic both harry and hermione travel . The war is over, they won but no friends or family survive. go back to shortly before Hogwarts. should cover all 7 years.
1. Author's Note

**Author's note:**

This is a story that I have had bouncing around in my head for quite a while now. I wrote the prologue for this a few months ago but never went any further.

When I was starting to look at my stuff for my other story, I kept getting distracted by ideas for continuing this.

For the foreseeable future, The Forgotten Power is officially on hold while I write this story. Sorry folks, I know ive been promising I would update it, but until I write this I'm not going to be able to get my head around anything else.

At this time I have the prologue and the first 3 chapters written, totalling slightly over 7,000 words (the chapters will be short until I get into the main body of the story at which point they will probably become longer).

Anyway, enough of my ramblings. Hope you enjoy the story, let me know what you think – good? Bad? Suggestions?

-**Josh**


	2. Prologue

The war was over.

Had been for a while now actually.

There had been quite a bit of loss on both sides before the inevitable conclusion, and the so called "final battle" had not been an epic clash of the titans, a battle to end all battles, nor had it been particularly impressive what so ever…in fact after all the build up, it had been rather anti-climactic to be honest with you.

"The-Man-Who-Won"…

Ridiculous title really.

Then again, what more can you expect from the Daily Prophet? They are after all rather simple folk…just like the majority of the wizarding population in general really, now that you mention it.

Well, lame or not, the title did in fact describe our hero, the man that was praised above all others and worshipped as something just short of a god. This man was now 20 years old, and of course went by the name Harry James Potter.

The four-and-a-bit years between the events at the Department of Mysteries and where our story picks up were…enlightening, if nothing else.

_A fifteen year old Harry Potter descended the stairs, leaving the office of his headmaster, one Albus Dumbledore, with many thoughts in his mind. Predominate among those were that mourning and a sense of loss – this was because he had just lost his godfather, Sirius Black, a man who he had not known for long but loved all the same and whom he considered to have the potential to become the next best thing to a father. There was also a sense of undeniable hatred. This was directed towards the self styled "Lord Voldemort", the half blood champion of the pureblood ideals, as well as his right hand bitch, Bellatrix "I don't quite know where sane is, so how can I be in sane" LeStrange, the murderer of same said godfather._

_Both of these things were to be expected really…or were at the very least understandable. What many people wouldn't expect was that there was also a sense of betrayal as well as undeniable anger directed towards the very man whose office he was now leaving_

'That damned prophecy…he knew all this time and never said – never tried to train me…almost as if he was _wanting_ me to be unprepared…well, I'll show him, I don't need his help…' _these were just some of the thoughts that were going through Harry's mind as he walked along the corridors and hallways of Hogwarts, not even paying attention where he was going, simply needing time to think before he had to deal with people again._

-SCENE BREAK-

_It was the day before the end of term, and Harry was just returning to the common room after handing in a late essay to one of the professors when he over heard the tail end of a whispered, but heated, conversation between his two best friends, who were clearly oblivious to his presence._

"_I said 'No' Ron, I won't do that to him and I think it's disgusting that you are. I thought you were supposed to be his friend." Hissed Hermione angrily, "Spying on someone, even for a teacher, is not something a friend would do…I can't believe you would do this to Harry…"_

_Hearing this, it was fair to say that Harry was a little bit pissed off…but he still, in his naivety, held out hope that perhaps Hermione had misunderstood something that had been said (which he had to admit to himself would either be a minor miracle or one of the signs of the apocalypse…Hermione Granger, not understanding something…almost laughable, if the situation wasn't so serious, and he wasn't so angry). It was at this point that Ron spoke up, removing all doubt._

"_Oh come on Herms," he began (and Harry, even in his angered state had to cringe at the nickname that Ron had taken to using for their bookworm friend lately, knowing that he really wasn't helping his case) "he's just a big headed glory hound anyway, it's not as though he actually cares about us…besides Dumbledore pays me really well and all I have to do is tell him stuff about Harry. He said that you can have the same deal and that if we do a good job then we will be guaranteed the Headboy and girl positions come seventh year."_

_By this point, Harry had heard enough and decided to act._

_Momentarily forgetting that he was a wizard, Harry grabbed Ron and punched him in the face, before throwing him on the ground and hitting him repeatedly until the dazed redhead's face was almost unrecognisable and he was unconscious. He then climbed back to his feet and looked over at Hermione, who had a look of understanding on her face…no anger, no rebuke about attacking someone – she understood and would have done the same in his position (though she may have used spells instead of fists)._

_They walked out of the, fortunately empty, (as most people were outside enjoying the sun and their last day at the school for some time) common room together, knowing that they needed to talk about what had happened, and needed privacy to do it, barely sparing a glance for their one-time-believed friend._

_Little did either of them realise that that would be the last time either of them would see Ronald Weasley._

-SCENE BREAK-

_As the train pulled in to Kings Cross station the students were all scrambling to collect their belongings and disembark, calling to each other and saying their farewells. Overall there was a rather joyous atmosphere…this was except in one compartment of the Hogwarts Express._

_In this particular compartment sat a small group of friends. Those being: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom._

_Harry and Hermione had spent the first part of the journey filling in the other two on the events of the previous day. Oddly enough, neither of them were overly surprised by the information…it turns out that most of the school had thought there was something wrong with the notion of the supposed _"Golden Trio"_ from day one._

_The remainder of the journey was spent making plans for the future. It was apparent that they could no longer trust Ron, and equally rather obvious that their beloved Headmaster was somewhat less than trust worthy as well. No, for now, they only knew for certain that they could trust each other. They had considered including the other person who accompanied them to the Department of Mysteries, Luna Lovegood, but it was agreed all round that while Luna was a nice enough girl and everything, until they knew for certain what was going on her strange ways and seeming lack of common sense or restraint in what she said and to who, was a potential security risk that they couldn't afford right now._

_Harry also took this opportunity to share the prophecy with the others._

_However, none of these things were the reason for the tension in the room. This was caused by the fact that Harry was about to do something that would either give him a way to escape from his hated relatives as well as potentially their manipulative headmaster, or it would tip their hand too early and cause completely unpredictable and unwanted consequences._

_During their discussions, it came to light that Harry should have received a hell of a lot more than he did from his parents. According to both Ginny and Neville, the Potters were an incredibly old (dating back to before the time of Merlin) family and probably _the _richest in the magical world, if not the muggle one as well. And from what Neville knew as well as bits and pieces that Hermione had read, Harry should have become emancipated and independent from the time he first entered the wizarding world at age 11, though until age 14 he would have had an advisor to ensure he was looked after properly._

-SCENE BREAK-

_Sneaking out of the train station unnoticed had been relatively easy for Harry. In the large crowds he had been able to get to the barrier between the magical and muggle parts of the station with no problems and before he went through, he slipped under his invisibility cloak._

_From there he went into the car park, where Hermione was waiting, having just finished feeding her parents some story or other to justify them giving Harry a lift in their car over to the Leaky Cauldron and the entrance to Diagon Alley. Whatever it was she told them, it obviously worked as 20 minutes later, after saying goodbye and promising to keep in touch, he found himself walking into the yard behind the old pub and entering the Alley._

_Upon arrival at Gringotts, his first destination this afternoon, Harry approached the first free teller he saw and gave a general impression of the nature of his enquiries._

_From there he was directed to a more senior goblin's office where he received several pieces of information that were important._

_First, he had not only the vault that he had been using but in fact several others. He also had shares in several large companies as well as owning a fair number of properties, both residential and commercial, across the world._

_Now, Harry was a not-quite-sixteen-year-old boy, and as such had very little idea when it came to finances…so naturally his eyes pretty much just glazed over as the goblin went on and on describing everything his family owned, but the important part is that he was rich. Very rich. And could choose to live in any one of about 30 countries the world over._

_There was also a note in his bank record that confirmed he could potentially be emancipated as well as stating that his parents had a will that had yet to be completely read as he was required to be there at the time. However, in order for either of these things to happen, he would have to go to the ministry of magic, as Gringotts, while impressive looking and ancient, was just a bank…an elaborate, prestigious and somewhat unusual bank, but a bank none the less._

_His mind made up, Harry used the floo connection at Gringotts to go to the ministry. Fortunately he had had the foresight to put on a cloak with a hood so that he wouldn't be immediately recognised. Also, as luck would have it, he arrived during a shift change, so he was able to get past the guards with no difficulty._

_After meeting with a representative of the Department of Estates, Wills and Heredity, Harry indeed became emancipated, gained a seat on the Wizengamot (which he had no plans of using anytime soon) and had all tracking charms removed from his wand._

-SCENE BREAK-

_In the manor house that had once belonged to his father, Tom Riddle had just summoned his followers – the rather pathetically titled "Death Eaters"._

_One by one they came forward and kissed the he of his robe before scurrying back to join the masses._

"_My loyal servants," he began, "I have gathered you here tonight for one simple purpose. As you are no doubt aware, several of your fellow death eaters have been captured because of their incompetence. This is…an unfortunate set-back in my plans. Therefore, I have decided that the time has come to make the world feel our wrath and remember why they fear to speak my name."_

_Predictably this gained cheers from the dim-witted brownnosers that he called his most loyal followers._

"_From this moment on, I want each and every one of you to take any opportunity that presents itself to deliver a blow to the so called Light side. Whether this means killing their forces, innocents or just wanton destruction…you have my blessing."_

_After a few more individual and specific assignments were given out, all of the Death Eaters left._

-SCENE BREAK-

_Albus Dumbledore, the self promoted Leader of the Light was in pain._

_What was worse, Albus Dumbledore was in pain and it was his own fault…and he knew it. For he had just successfully destroyed one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, and while this was a good thing and a major step in the right direction, he had been too arrogant in the way he did it._

_He had put the ring on and attempted to engage in a battle of wills in order to defeat the soul fragment. This had eventually been successful, but not before one of the traps on the artefact had been activated, leaving his hand almost useless._

_Doing this would be his second to last mistake._

_The headmaster was running as fast as his very old legs would carry him towards the dungeons of Hogwarts and the one man with years of dark arts experience whom he actually trusted beyond any doubt, Severus Snape._

_Same said greasy haired potions master had just finished brewing a rather virulent form of poison when one of his masters barged into his office and explained what had happened to him._

_This was the time that Snape had to make a final decision…who would he serve for the rest of his life? If he healed Dumbledore then he would be shunned from the death eaters for the rest of his life (or at least what would be left of it before the Dark Lord killed him). If however he were to follow his Lord's orders and use this opportunity to kill the old man, he would be shunned by the light but gain favour above and beyond all others with Voldemort._

_Severus Snape was a coward. The choice was not too difficult for him._

_As opposed to the potion that would restore Albus' hand to full use, he instead gave him a vial of the potion he had just been brewing._

_Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Leader of the Light, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Order of Merlin First Class, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards…and various other things, was dead before he even knew he had been betrayed._

_Severus fled into the night to rejoin his master._

_Trusting Severus Snape was the final mistake Albus would make in his long life._

-SCENE BREAK-

_It was now just before Christmas in what would have been Harry Potter's sixth year of schooling, had Hogwarts still been open._

_Instead, he and a small group of trusted people, including former school-mates and members of the now disbanded Order of the Phoenix were living together in one of Harry's larger houses in Wales 'Gryffindor Manor'._

_They had been there since the middle of August, training for the war they now found themselves in and using the location as a base of operations._

_Such a short space of time, but already they had lost people. _

_Of the Weasley family, only Ginny and Percy (the prat) remained alive._

_Mad-Eye Moody was also dead…but he took Bellatrix and Wormtail with him._

_Hagrid was worse than dead, a victim of the dementor's kiss._

_The minister of magic (as incompetent as he had been) had been killed before the summer was over, as had his successor, one Rufus Scrimgour. Amelia Bones was now minister and doing a much better job than Fudge had, but it was still difficult considering that the higher levels of the ministry and the Wizengamot were filled with Death Eaters._

_There were random attacks on targets across Britain and to a lesser extent the rest of Europe._

_The Death Eaters were not very organised, but they didn't have to be. Their form of terror was more than effective._

_However it had not all been bad, the five remaining friends from the department of mysteries incident (they had decided to include Luna less than 2 weeks into the summer holiday) were now closer than ever and were a very effective fighting unit after the training they were doing._

_There were deaths in Voldemort's ranks too, though it was sometimes difficult to know exactly _who_ these were. The more notable ones included:_

_Bellatrix_

_Pettigrew_

_Lucius_

_Draco_

_Crabbe Snr_

_Goyle Snr_

_Nott_

_However, things were still far from over._

-SCENE BREAK-

_It was now a month after Harry's seventeenth birthday, and they had finally managed to destroy the last of Voldemort's horcruxes._

_The Dark Lord was now mortal._

_As happens with all witches and wizards, Harry received a rather substantial power boost when he came of age. He was now far greater than the equal to the dark lord that the prophecy indicated he was back when he was a baby. He and his friends were now confident that when Harry and Voldemort met next, Harry would be capable of killing him. However, Tom Riddle, despite all of his assorted failings, was far from stupid. He kept away from any major fights and was rarely seen at all except by his highest ranking servants._

_So while Harry was able to beat him, he still had to actually _find_ him first._

-SCENE BREAK-

_Harry Potter had just defeated the Dark Lord. There had been no taunting, no never-before-seen magic, no declarations that it was being done in revenge for such-and-such an act, nor for the 'greater good'._

_No, this was one of the few battles that Voldemort wanted to personally oversee. They were attempting to take over the ministry._

_While he was watching what his team of death eaters were doing to the opposition (commonly known as _losing_), Riddle was not paying attention to what was going on behind him. This cost him his life._

_Having your head removed by a sword does usually have the effect of killing someone._

_The so-called Lord was no exception._

_There were of course celebrations across the world, various ministries wanted to award Harry with various honours…he refused them all._

_For among all of the celebration there were two people who did not have much to celebrate. These people were Harry and Hermione. They were the last people remaining out of the group that had been training together all that time ago. All of their friends had been killed, some in rather gruesome manners, others quickly and painlessly, but it didn't matter in the end, for they were still dead._

-END FLASHBACK-

This brings us to the current situation. The two surviving heroes were sitting together in the kitchen of #12 Grimmauld Place (where they had taken to living lately) and mourning the loss of their friends.

"I just wish there was some way that we could change everything." Said Hermione quietly.

Sitting in silence for a moment, Harry pondered that statement, for that was something he had also been thinking a lot lately…unlike Hermione though, Harry was seriously considering it. Deciding that he might as well at least run the idea by his wife of the past six months, Harry voiced his plan.

"Hermione, I might sound crazy here, but I have an idea…"


	3. Chapter I

**Chapter I**** – They Arrive.**

The Dursley family of Privet Drive, Little Winging, Surrey were normally normal, perfectly perfect and regularly regular, while being more average than was average. At least, that is what they wanted everyone else to think – for the Dursleys had a secret.

Embodiment of said secret was currently sleeping peacefully in the cupboard under the stairs in the house of said Dursley family.

Harry James Potter the ten, nearly eleven year old boy who was the nephew of Petunia Dursley was enveloped in a strong golden glow for approximately five minutes. During this time, his mind and his magic were dramatically altered until he was, in essence, his twenty year old self in his nearly eleven year old body, with all of the memories and abilities of the older version.

However, Harry slept on for quite some time after this.

That is until…

BANG BANG BANG

"Get up!"

At this, it is fair to say, Harry Potter woke up.

When Harry became aware of his surroundings and situation his first thought was _'what am I doing back here?'_, when he remembered what he had done last this was closely followed by _'It worked!'_ and a sense of immense pride and satisfaction.

"Wake up boy!" came the voice of Vernon Dursley, "I want my breakfast!"

"I'll be there in a minute, Uncle." Was Harry's reply, having decided it best to, at least for now, play along as though nothing had changed.

Fifteen minutes later, the four inhabitants of Number Four were gathered around the kitchen table, while they were eating their respective breakfasts. At this time, they heard something being pushed through the letterbox, signalling the arrival of the post and, if Harry and Hermione had calculated correctly, Harry's Hogwarts letter.

Trying not to seem too eager, Harry volunteered to retrieve the letters and sure enough, there was the distinctive yellowed parchment and green ink of official Hogwarts correspondence.

Not wanting to relive the fleeing around the country in the vain hope of avoiding the letters that had happened the first time, on his way past he threw the letter into his cupboard and quietly closed the door before proceeding into the kitchen with everything else.

The remainder of that morning proceeded fairly well, certainly much better than the way Harry remembered it from the previous timeline.

Shortly after lunch, Harry was able to make his way to the local park (thankfully free of Dudley and his friends) and sat in a very secluded corner so he could go over the plan for the next few days.

But first, the important thing was to check that he could still do magic to the level he could previously. One wandless Patronus Charm later, Harry was very satisfied that this was indeed the case.

Tomorrow morning he would be leaving Little Whinging for good. He would use a wandless glamour charm in order to conceal his true features and travel via Knight Bus to Diagon Alley in order to buy the things he would need in the immediate future. He would then rent a room at the Leaky Cauldron until his birthday, the day on which he would be reunited with someone very special to him. That someone was also having a rather interesting day…

-SCENE BREAK-

Earlier that morning, about forty miles from Privet Drive, at the exact same time as Harry was glowing and gaining his future memories and powers, the same phenomenon was occurring to another person. In this instance, it was a young girl some ten and a half months older than Harry.

This girl was, of course, Hermione Granger. Well, at least the girl was Hermione Granger…the woman whose mind was in essence replacing hers was actually Hermione Potter but, for now at least, that fact is somewhat irrelevant.

Just like Harry, Hermione slept through the entire process and would not wake for several hours.

When she ultimately did awaken, Hermione did so in a much more pleasant manor than Harry and in a much more pleasant location.

That is to say, she woke up when she was no longer tired and in her bedroom at her parents house, which she had long believed she would never see again…that is; the room, the house and her parents, which she never thought she would see again after all were destroyed entirely by Voldemort's forces shortly after New Year 1998.

Relieved that their plan had succeeded, Hermione allowed herself to relax for a few minutes before completing her morning routine and heading downstairs for breakfast.

She knew this was going to be difficult; pretending that she had last seen her parents only a matter of hours ago, when it had, in fact, been over 2 years. For that was precisely what she had to do.

Harry and herself and discussed this issue in great depth. Her parents and several select others would be told the truth, both because it would be necessary and because they didn't want to shut everyone out. It would however, be a very difficult story to explain, so they had agreed not to do so until they were both together and had the ability to back it up (it was one of Harry's tasks to acquire a pensieve between now and his birthday).

Walking into the kitchen, Hermione saw her mother cooking a simple breakfast while her father was reading the morning paper.

Everything proceeded normally for a while, and Hermione somehow managed to maintain a calm exterior even though inside she was positively ecstatic.

At this stage, she had a small task to accomplish – that being to convince her parents to take her shopping at Diagon Alley in two days time on Harry's birthday in order for them to meet. Hermione having received her letter and visit from a Hogwarts professor a week previous to today.

Slightly nervously she broached the subject. "Mum, Dad? I was wondering, would we maybe be able to go into London on Wednesday to get my school things?"

"Well," began her father "I suppose we could do, but what's the rush?"

Deciding carefully how to respond in order to best win them over she replied, "Well you see I was thinking…start of school is only a little over a month away, and I really should get all of my supplies and books and things so that I can get some idea of what I'm going to have to do…I mean some of the people in my class have grown up with all of this and if I can't prepare then I just know I'm going to be so far behind everyone. And I know you both have Wednesdays off work so I thought it would be the easiest time. Please?"

Now Hermione's parents, Robert and Jane Granger, both love their only child dearly, and as such would not, within reason, deny her any opportunity. Therefore after this plea, it was settled. The Grangers would be going to Diagon Alley in two days time.

-SCENE BREAK-

There exists in magical Britain, three books that magically update themselves and are important to our story.

One of these is simply known as "The Hogwarts Book". This contains, among other things, a list of all past, present and future Hogwarts students, their dates of birth, children, spouses and dates of death.

The second, which is kept by the Ministry of Magic, records these same things. This one however does so for every magical citizen of the British Isles.

The third, and for our purposes last, book is kept in a library of sorts within the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic and records instances of magics related to time travel within the borders of their jurisdiction, who did it, how, when they originated from and when they arrived.

At precisely 3:00am on Monday 29th July 1991, not so coincidentally the precise time that a certain two individuals were surrounded by a golden light, all three of these records updated themselves.


	4. Chapter II

**Chapter II**** – Harry Leaves**

The remainder of the day of Harry's arrival into the past proceeded reasonably well. He stayed out of the house all afternoon and until it was time for the evening meal which he happily cooked (not only because it was expected of him, but also because he had tasted his aunt's cooking before, and didn't particularly want food poisoning just now), and then spent the early evening tending the garden (something that he had secretly always enjoyed) before going to bed early in preparation for the next day.

-SCENE BREAK-

_Petunia, Vernon and Dudley,_

_You will, no doubt, have noticed by now that I am not here. There is a simple explanation for this fact._

_Yesterday morning I received a most interesting letter. A letter from a place called "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry". Yes, your fears have been realised. I found out. I've actually known for quite a while now. But that is of little importance anymore._

_You have never truly been my family. You never will be._

_I've left and I will likely never return to Privet Drive, so one of your greatest wishes has been fulfilled._

_I know all about the letter that Dumbledore left with me on the doorstep years ago. Don't worry about him, by the time he finds out, it will be too late and he won't care to bother you about it._

_Goodbye_

_Harry_

That was the letter that Harry left on the kitchen table, having woken up at 6:30 –an hour before his relatives would get up.

He then quietly left the house and walked away from Privet Drive for the last time without so much as a glance back over his shoulder.

When he was several streets away from his relatives' house, Harry ducked into a dark alleyway and cast a glamour charm to alter his appearance. Gone was the black hair, green eyes and scar, to be replaced by brown hair, blue eyes and an unmarked face.

Considering no one in the magical world had seen him for over 9 years, and he was a baby then, he considered this level of disguise to be more than enough.

Walking back onto the main street, he raised his right hand and concentrated on summoning the Knight Bus.

10 minutes and one very wild ride later, Harry was leaving the bus (which was, he remembered, thankfully free between 2 and 7am) and passing through the Leaky Cauldron and out into Diagon Alley.

The alley itself was relatively quiet at this time of day. There were however several shops open and several more opening as the wizarding world runs on much longer hours than it's muggle counterpart.

Harry made his way into Gringotts and approached one of the handful of tellers working this time of day.

"Good morning," he began. "I know I have a vault here, but someone else has my key. Is there any way of accessing it?"

After stating and confirming (via a magical blood test) his identity, Harry was escorted down to his personal vault (the one that he had known about since this point in the previous time). Once there, the goblin with him opened the vault using a master key and while Harry was collecting some of his galleons, changed the lock on the door as there was no magical way of retrieving keys, nor any easy way to produce a replacement. There was a small fee for this service however Harry was more than rich enough to cover it.

With his gold in his pocket, Harry spent the next few hours buying the things he would immediately need as well as his school supplies.

127 books (including a copy of the Hogwarts set texts – all subjects, all years with the obvious exception of the Lockheart books he knew would be on the list for his second year – rich or not, he wasn't going to waste money on those anytime soon), 2 full school uniforms (minus the ridiculous hat, that with the exception of his first day he never wore the first time round and saw no reason to do so again), various casual robes, 2 sets of formal/dress robes, assorted formal and casual muggle clothes, a broomstick (a nimbus like his first one, as he was disappointed to remember the Firebolt series was still a couple of years away, and sod the "first year" rule – let them _try_ and take it off him), a trunk (2 compartments – 1 with a standard key lock and enlarged to twice its normal size and 1 again twice normal size with a locking mechanism keyed to a person's magical signature), his wand (the same one as he had before, and he still thought Ollivander was a creepy old weirdo, even if he was harmless), 2 cauldrons (one for school and one larger one that he had plans for), assorted potions supplies, a telescope, some sweets, a crate of butterbeer and some muggle stationary (having long ago decided it was much easier to use) later he headed back to the Leaky Cauldron and booked a room for a few days.

Being thoroughly exhausted, Harry left all of his newly gained possessions in the room and had a light lunch in the pub before going up and having a nap for a couple of hours.

When he woke up again, Harry looked at the clock and saw that it was early evening. He decided to use the rest of his day to look through the first couple of year's worth of his school books as he realised it had been a long time since he had used much of the material as he now knew other, better, ways of doing things – but in order to get by in class he would have to know these ones.

That was something that Harry and Hermione had decided when preparing for their little trip. They would have to go to Hogwarts as it was required due to their physical ages, and probably the only way to meet some of their old friends. However, between actually attending the classes and the study they did with their friends and allies while fighting the war, they were in fact beyond mastery level in most magical fields and just about there in the rest of them (having your life depend on it being a very good motivator for learning). While they didn't particularly want everyone knowing the full extent of their knowledge and abilities, they refused to hold back (Harry because he didn't really want to have to do all of the work that would go into it, and Hermione on the principle of the matter – even years later she still would not do anything but her absolute best when it came to academics).

Once he had completed the first 3 years of material, Harry decided it was time to rest.

However, on this night, rest would not be synonymous with sleep. This seemed like as good a time as any for Harry to re-establish his occlumency abilities and protections. It turned out that when he was actually told the _correct_ way of doing it, as opposed to what Snape had him doing, Harry was somewhat of a natural at this. The meditative state that was used in order to protect one's mind was as rejuvenating as sleeping, therefore he spent all night doing so, looking forward to the following day when he would once again see Hermione.

-SCENE BREAK-

While Harry was busy shopping and reading, Hermione had a different task in mind. It was all part of their plan you see, they wanted to have a basic timeline of the events that had happened in their previous lives written down, in order to monitor what was supposed to be happening, what they wanted to change and how their changes were affecting other things.

That was one of the risks that they had to consider with this plan. What if they changed things to the extent that their fore-knowledge became useless? What if they made a mistake and ended up causing something even worse to happen? It was a very difficult thing to predict as the effects of a single event, no matter how insignificant, could be far reaching and either wondrous or catastrophic in nature.

The following is the timeline of major events she came up with for the year to come.

HP meets Hagrid to get to Diagon Alley

HP meets Weasleys at station

HP and RW become friends on train

HG spends most of train journey alone

Both sorted into Gryffindor

Neither really get to know many housemates

Neither have any friends in other houses

"duel" with Malfoy – first discovery of "Fluffy"

HP getting on Quidditch team

Troll in bathroom

HP gets invisibility cloak

Discovery of Mirror of Erised

Norbert and detention in forest – first encounter with Voldemort

Following Quirrell after the stone

Deciding that, while not complete, this would be enough to work from Hermione was satisfied with her work.

This took her a surprising amount of time and after completing this list and a few chores around the house it was soon late afternoon. Once they returned from work, she spent the rest of the day just spending time with her parents, taking the wonderful opportunity to spend time with them once more.

As she went to sleep that night, Hermione's last thoughts were of her favourite black haired, green eyed man and how much she was looking forward to seeing him again the next day.


	5. Chapter III

**Chapter III**** – Hermione Shops and Everyone Meets**

It was an excited Hermione that led her parents through the Leaky Cauldron at shortly after 11am on 31st July. Now, anyone who did not know better would be forgiven for thinking that said young witch was excited to be getting her first glimpse of the magical world that she was due to become a part of. In truth, this was partially true – Diagon Alley had been partially destroyed not long into what would have been her sixth year at Hogwarts (had she attended), so she was excited to see it whole again and full of life. However, she was more excited to be seeing Harry again (even though they had only been apart for 2 days relatively speaking) in a couple of hours time, and it took all of her self restraint not to sneak away and up into the room she knew he would be staying in at the 'Cauldron.

"Wow, this looks amazing." Said her mother quietly, breaking Hermione out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, come on that must be the bank over there, lets go." She said, grabbing her parents' arms and dragging them in the direction of what she in fact _knew_ to be the bank, in order to exchange their pounds for galleons.

Fifteen minutes later, and Hermione was once more leading her parents (though this time somewhat less forcefully) into Flourish and Blotts, the bookshop. This being her first choice of where to go out of all of the shops brought smiles to her parents faces and she could have sworn she heard something suspiciously like the word "typical" being muttered.

A little over an hour later, the three emerged from the shop. Hermione was feeling rather victorious, having negotiated her parents up to 15 books plus her school texts. She could have had a few more, but then only if she hadn't got a copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ as that was easily the most expensive. But the chances of that happening we're obviously pretty low.

They next made their way to Ollivander's, after twenty minutes in which she blasted apart 3 sets of shelves, her parents had to duck for cover twice and Mr. Ollivander's robes were turned a bright pink that she thought would make Lockheart envious, she finally gained her wand (or regained as the case may be, it being the same one that matched her in the previous timeline). Vinewood and dragon heartstring.

Next came a trip to the apothecary, which made both of the elder Grangers become extremely nauseous, though overall they were still very impressed with this new world and happy that their daughter could be a part of it.

After a visit to Madam Malkin's, Hermione insisted on visiting a shop that her parents found unusual, not the shop itself (as they found most of _them_ unusual) but that Hermione would want to go there. Quality Quidditch Supplies was an…interesting experience. Mr and Mrs Granger found the sport to be fascinating, but sincerely hoped that their daughter was not planning on taking it up as it seemed somewhat dangerous. Hermione herself did make a purchase in this shop but refused to say what it was or why.

As they made their way to their next stop, the stationers, Hermione was sure she saw a familiar head of black hair slightly further along the street, but before she could be certain, her view was blocked.

The rest of the day progressed nicely for the Granger family. Two of their number discovering the wonders of magic and the third revelling in the opportunity to be among the crowds again in a way that she hadn't been able to for, what was to her, five years – before the war began.

When they had completed the shopping and had a look around at some of the other stores, The Granger parents decided (or more accurately, Hermione insisted) upon having an early dinner at the Leaky Cauldron.

While they were eating, the conversation was light and they discussed the events of the day; what they had each found interesting, what they would like to know more about, and other expectable topics.

However Hermione was beginning to get nervous. Harry would be arriving in 20 minutes and she had to begin to guide the conversation towards the revelations to come. She sincerely hoped that her parents were understanding, or at the least accepting, as according to "The Plan" if they weren't then Harry would be practicing his Obliviate before the night was over. It wasn't something that she particularly wanted to do, but knew that realistically there was a good chance it would be necessary so that her and Harry could do what they wanted and needed to do. To her this wasn't one of the _Greater Good_ things, it was purely selfish- if her parents made her choose between the life she had made for herself and them, then there was no competition. The way things had been in the previous timeline, by the time she died she barely really knew her parents and had long ago accepted that she might not ever have a family in that way. Harry was her family now. _'But'_ she thought, _'I'm getting ahead of myself here, there's a chance they will accept me for who I really am.'_

During a lull in the conversation, Hermione seized her chance, "There's some things I need to tell you." She began.

"What's wrong?" Replied her father, concerned.

"Nothing is wrong exactly." She said "For now I need you to listen and not ask questions about how I know or what's going on, but I promise everything will be answered soon. In a few minutes, someone is going to arrive to help me explain. His name is Harry, and what we have to tell you is very important and while it might be difficult to understand and even harder to believe, I promise you it is entirely true. It's another of the strange things that can happen with magic, but this is likely going to be by far the strangest you will come across. Can you promise me that you will listen with an open mind and not jump to conclusions until you have heard everything we have to say?"

Both adults were somewhat stunned by such serious words coming from their little girl, however they had always trusted her judgement and knew she was sensible.

"Ok, we'll listen to what you and your friend have to say." Replied her mother "But who is this 'Harry' you are talking about? Where do you know him from?"

"Harry is a very good friend. He's a bit younger than me, a good person and very nice – I'm sure you'll like him. And as for where I know him from, well that's part of what you're going to be told. And he's here now."

**Author's Note:** This is all I have so far. Most of it was typed late last night and none of it has been proof-read, so I am aware there will likely be errors (my thanks to anyone who points them out). Once I have posted this, I am going to start work on the next chapter, which will be Harry and Hermione doing their explaining (which will include an opportunity for me to fill in some of the blanks for you, my dear readers).

As well as feedback on the story/concept as a whole, I would like your opinion on something I'm not sure what to do with. Hermione's parents. Do I:

have them react very badly and have them memory charmed. (will likely be the last we see of them if so)

have them somewhat accepting but fairly distant. (like in "cannon", they're in the background. We know they're there. We don't really see much of them, but they're still part of the story.)

have them accepting of the situation and trying to help out, keep them in the story and showing up on occasion, but still not take on too major a role.

Keep them in the story as fairly main characters and have them fully supportive of everything that is going on.

I would appreciate reader-input on this as I'm undecided. I will be at the point where I need to make the choice within a couple of days, so if I don't hear anything from you all, I will probably go with option B or C.

Hope you like it so far.


	6. Chapter IV

**Chapter IV: ****Conversations, Revelations and Memories**

Harry got up in the early afternoon of the day that was both his 11th and 20th birthday. He was unsurprised to find that he did not have any presents or cards waiting for him. After all, in this timeline, he didn't know anyone yet and he knew that any unsolicited mail was currently being blocked.

He was however content with this situation as he knew that later that day he would be getting his wife back, which was, in his opinion, the best present he could hope for.

After preparing for the day ahead, Harry made his way out into the alley in search of a pensieve. These, he had discovered, were fairly expensive items but by no means rare among those that could afford them.

An hour, and a little over 700 galleons, later, Harry returned, pensieve in hand, to his room.

The following two hours were spent extracting copies of his memories of significant events over the course of his life, both good and bad, that would either help persuade Hermione's parents or help fill them in on what happened. Everything from the troll in first year to meeting Sirius, the horrors of battle to the sheer joy of their wedding day, went in.

At 4 o'clock, Harry went downstairs into the main part of the pub, looking around for Hermione and her family. After a moment's searching, he spotted them at a table in the corner and made his way over.

Or at least, he started to. When he nearly got to the table, he was hit by what appeared to be a brown-haired missile and grabbed into a hug. Not that he was complaining of course, though he was mindful of the fact that her parents were there and had no clue who he was.

Once basic introductions were made, Harry suggested they all go upstairs to his room where they could talk in private, to which Hermione agreed before the elder Grangers could get a word in.

Shortly thereafter, they were ready to begin what they knew they had to do, as all viable stalling tactics had been used.

Harry walked over to his trunk and pulled out two books, opened them to the appropriate pages and passed one to each of the adults in the room.

"Mr and Mrs Granger," he began "before we begin, I would like you to read the page I've opened in each book as this will make things much easier."

Giving him confused looks, they complied and began reading. A couple of minutes later, they swapped books and continued.

While this was being done, Hermione was adding some of her memories to the pensieve to be shown alongside Harry's.

The texts that Harry had selected were a fourth and a sixth year textbook which outlined magical oaths and pensieves respectively.

"Now, do you understand the basics of what you've just read?" he asked, when it was clear that they had finished.

Hermione's father was the first to reply. "Yes, more or less. These oath things are basically statements or promises that if you go against them you lose your magic, and pensieves, which I assume that thing on the table that you've both been messing about with is, are a way of seeing a person's memories. That about sum it up?"

"In essence, that is basically it. The oaths are a bit more tricky than that – for example, I could easily swear one that I the next thing I say is the truth, however I could not swear that 2 weeks next Tuesday I would have pizza for tea…there are things that will and won't work, but if it won't then the oath simply doesn't take hold." Said Hermione, out of habit slipping into lecture mode. "I would also like to say that everything you have just read is accurate, and it hasn't been altered as there are probably another 50 copies of each book in the shop down the road and you could easily check at a later date."

Not seeing where this was going, her parents simply nodded their heads in agreement – their patience starting to wear a bit thin with all of this.

That is until.

"I swear on my magic that the everything I tell you in this room tonight will be the truth as I know it and that all of the memories I have or will put in the pensieve are real and unaltered."

This was read from a piece of paper by both Harry and Hermione, and accompanied by a brief flare of light from each of them, signifying the acceptance of the oath.

After a brief moment, Hermione spoke up again, "Now before you say anything, yes, it was necessary and you will understand why soon. I want you both to sit there and listen to what we, well mostly I really, have to say and save all questions for after we have explained and you've seen the memories. Understood?"

Not used to their daughter being so forceful, her highly intelligent parents were, once more, reduced to nodding dumbly.

"Our story begins in October 1981…"

For the next two and a half hours Harry and Hermione took turns in explaining the first war against Voldemort and the events of their first five in the wizarding world before they got to…

"…and that was when Harry came in and beat him senseless – not that I blame him really. Anyway, we went to the room of requirement and I filled him in on everything Ron had said before he arrived."

"While we were talking, we also realised there had been a lot of times when things just hadn't seemed right about both Ron and Dumbledore, and we pretty much agreed that I had been set up from the start." Continued Harry.

"Harry spent the night in the room so as to avoid Weasley that night, and I went back to the tower after a few hours. Anyway, the next day on the train we talked to a few of our friends about it all and while they were shocked that he would go that low and that the headmaster was involved, it seems that everyone but us had always been suspicious about Ron and his loyalty."

"Hermione convinced the two of you to give me a lift from the train station to just outside here. I spent the next few hours dealing with goblins and ministry officials – not sure which is worse – and found out that a lot of things had been kept from me. Included in those things were a lot of property, even more money and a handful of titles."

Harry made to continue, but Hermione broke in before he could, "What Harry is trying to say is that Dumbledore had played games in order to deprive Harry of several billion galleons, enough property that it can actually be measured as a percentage of the country more easily than actual area and a couple of the highest ranking titles in British nobility, both magical and non."

"Thank you Hermione, I was trying not to make a big deal of it." Came the slightly chiding retort, making Hermione blush slightly but look totally unapologetic. "Anyway, the point is I went and moved into one of my houses in Wales where I was later joined by first a few of my friends from school and later some members of the Order…but I'm getting ahead of myself here.

"We never did find out precisely what happened, but the facts we do know are that in August that year Dumbledore destroyed a Horcrux (we'll get to them a bit later) and was killed by Snape shortly thereafter. I know he was poisoned, but not what it was or how. I know he had just destroyed the Horcrux because the stupid old bugger was wearing the bloody thing and even hours after he died when the aurors got there, it still registered as a magical item, which we later found out they stop being after about 12 hours."

"Well, there went Harry's chance to confront the Headmaster, as well as one of the only people that was slowing Voldemort down and giving any illusion of safety for the masses. Within 2 days of his death being reported, it was announced that Hogwarts was closed indefinitely due to 'undisclosed security concerns'…in other words they were terrified and didn't want to open the school without Dumbledore to hide behind if anything went wrong. We really don't like the guy for what he did to Harry, but even we have to admit that he did do a lot of good, if only as serving as a figurehead and a beacon of hope."

"A role that then fell to me." Harry sighed. "We later found out that in late July, Voldemort had pretty much told his followers to take any and all opportunities to kill people, either on the light side or innocents, and create havoc. This, it seems, is one of the few things that Death Eaters are actually good at. Within a the space of a couple of months, we had 2 Ministers of Magic killed and a third sworn in…but that proved to be a good thing, as Amelia turned out to be the best thing that could happen to the ministry at the time."

"It was around this time that we started training for war." Said Hermione sadly, "Sure, we learned the things that would have been on the school syllabus when we had time, but the majority of the time, we knew we were preparing for combat. There were 12 of us from Hogwarts, the ones who we knew we could trust and had the potential to actually make a difference. We also had a fair amount of the combat experienced members of the, now defunct, Order of the Phoenix, some of whom came and went as they could and others who were with us for the duration."

"Unfortunately," continued Harry, "we lost a fair few of our number before we had really begun. On the last day of August, a dozen or so death eaters attacked Diagon Alley. Six of them were killed or captured, but there were over 30 casualties…including Fred and George Weasley who had been working with us, along with their traitor brother Ron who had been visiting their newly opened shop. Mad-Eye was killed in an all out attack on Hogsmeade in late September…it was a quick strike; they arrived attacked and left in under 5 minutes. Unfortunately Moody was in the area, going to meet someone with information. He managed to kill some of the attackers, but with only one leg he was a lot less mobile than he used to be and was soon overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. A little over a month later, the same place was attacked again; this time by dementors…65 people lost their souls that night before they were driven off. Hagrid among them. A couple of weeks later, a squad of death eaters attacked the burrow – sealed it, set up wards, blocked the floo connection and burned it to the ground. Molly, Arthur and Bill were inside. A month after that, Charlie Weasley was killed…not by Voldemort's forces, but because he made a mistake with one of his dragons and the over grown lizard fried him…even so, it was one less person fighting for our side."

"There were" clarified Hermione, "many other attacks of varying sizes, some of which we went to, to try and prevent them, but those were the only ones where we lost someone close to us. Needless to say the country was in turmoil by this stage. We however, continued to train as hard as we could and fought back whenever we had the opportunity. Don't get me wrong, we weren't doing that all of the time – we became closer friends with a lot of people we had barely known at Hogwarts and often made time to just relax and all spend time with each other."

"Now, it was around Christmas that year that we were contacted by someone from the Department of Mysteries." Remembered Harry. "It was well known who we were and what we were doing and he needed someone outside the ministry to deal with this, as it could not become a matter of public record. His department is a research department…they deal with unusual or potentially dangerous items and magics. Among these items was the ring that had been found on Dumbledore's body…the aurors who investigated his death didn't have a clue what it was but knew it was a pretty advanced bit of magic, so it got sent down to Mysteries. When they got around to analyzing it, it took them a couple of months to determine exactly what it was. They knew pretty quickly that it had been a Horcrux – the product of some particularly evil magic that, through a ritual and the act of murder, separated a piece of a person's soul and encased it in an object…the Horcrux, in this case, the ring. Of course, they could also tell that the soul fragment had been destroyed, making it very difficult to tell who had created it as they only had a very faint magical trace or echo to work with. Eventually though they worked out that it was Voldemort's, and through using an ancient and pretty nifty device that they've got hidden away in that basement of theirs, found that he had several more and exact location of each and every one of them. This was the information that he brought to us. Now, while some of us wanted to go and destroy them straight away," at Hermione's sharp cough he admitted, "ok, well that was mostly me to be honest, but it was decided that they were likely heavily protected and that we should plan it out properly, so while it was interesting and useful information, for the moment we continued as we had been."

"On a lighter note," began Hermione, "Harry and I had been getting closer and closer as the months went by, and in early March that year he finally asked me to be his girlfriend, I of course said yes. We had our first date on the 6th of that month; we went to a nice restaurant in London and spent the evening out. Anyway, as wonderful as that was…and it was wonderful, there were other things going on at this point. There were attacks happening pretty often, but thankfully it seemed that after the initial wave things had calmed slightly and it was now one every couple of weeks or so rather than every couple of days. Still terrible, but easier to deal with and it gave us more time to train.

"Speaking of training, we were now learning all of the subjects that were offered at Hogwarts as well as several others that usually weren't taught except under strict supervision. It was amazing. By this time we were all pretty much at NEWT level or there abouts in the subjects we had studied at school and at least OWL level in the others. By late march we had managed to scout out the locations of the horcruxes, turns out there were 4 we had to deal with and 2 destroyed including the diary from second year…he'd split his soul into 7 (with one of those pieces in his body).

"Ravenclaw's diadem was no problem to retrieve as it was at Hogwarts and we were working with the appointed (and rather unnecessary) Headmistress. That one was destroyed pretty early on. Slytherin's locket was also easy, as that was at Grimmauld Place…which Harry owned. In mid-June of that year, we got lucky and managed to kill Nagini – Voldemort's snake familiar who was also a Horcrux. We think Voldemort believed it to be nothing more than a personal insult to kill something so close to him…either way he was stuck as he couldn't check on most of the horcruxes and he couldn't make more without risking not having a big enough piece of soul in his body to survive."

"On 7th July" said Harry "another of our friends and allies was killed. Remus Lupin, was killed while responding to an attack in Leeds although he did manage to take the last of the attackers with him.

"The final Horcrux," he continued after a brief pause, "was stored in the Gringotts vault of one of the Death Eaters. Half way through August, Voldemort made a big mistake. So far the goblins had been completely neutral in the war. He tried to attack them and take control of the bank. He failed. The goblins were then more than willing to negotiate with us in regards to retrieving the Horcrux. On August 31st we destroyed the last one."

"He was now mortal." Hermione took over the narrative, "What's more, he was beginning to suspect that this was the case. Therefore he stopped leading raids and attacks personally and essentially went into hiding, with only his most trusted death eaters having any contact with him. So while he was in fact mortal, we still had to wait for an opportunity to present itself to be able to end it.

"Things proceeded in what was now a normal fashion for several months. On 5th January '98, we got a call that…"

As Hermione trailed off, Harry wrapped an arm around her in support and continued for her, "5th January we got a lot of calls that there were attacks all over the south of England. We could only respond to a handful of them as there were by this point only about 40 aurors and 20 of our group working together to do what we could. We later learned that one of the attacks that we didn't have anyone to respond to was your house and the surrounding area. You both died…and it wasn't a pleasant death…I won't go into details."

After a minute he carried on, "The clean up from that day lasted a few weeks. Mid February, Tonks went missing…it wasn't until a week later we found out she had been killed. One more, dear friend, dead, and one less wand to fight the fight. If only that had been the worst of it.

"Two months later, an all out assault was carried out on Diagon Alley…the whole thing was levelled. There were light casualties on both sides, but a lot more who were innocent civilians who didn't want any part in the war. Needless to say, the aftermath of this was massive. 4 months after that, we had just about got back to normal and the same thing happened to Hogsmeade, only with a lot more innocent lives lost."

Here Hermione rejoined the story, "We spent several months where it seemed just about all we did was deal with the wreckage and train. Early January the next year, Kingsley Shacklebolt was killed in an ambush on the people clearing up the last of the Hogsmeade debris. Another 3 months after that and the ministry was attacked on mass. The building was destroyed. The ministry itself continued to function in a minimal capacity from an alternate site, but they were down to essential personnel only.

"Another bit of happy news…25th August 1999, Harry proposed…it wasn't perfect, it wasn't particularly romantic, but it was definitely Harry, just the way I love him. Naturally, I was ecstatic and accepted immediately.

"Unfortunately, nothing good can last. There was an upsurge of attacks over the next few months and thousands died. Luckily, of our number we only lost one, but it was still a loss and still hit hard. Luna was killed on 1st December in a giant attack on a small town just outside Cardiff.

"However, not long after that, we managed to wipe out one of Voldemort's bases and things went quiet for a while. We used this opportunity and on 15th January 2000 we got married. Not a big fancy wedding…in the middle of a war that wasn't practical, and neither of us really wanted that anyway. It was a small ceremony with a few friends, but to us it was perfect.

"Things stayed quiet for a while, and people began to think that things might be almost over."

"Well," Harry broke in, "in a way they were right. It turns out that Voldemort hadn't gone away, he was just organising his forces, but it _was_ almost over. From early April there was a massive upswing in attacks…the whole country was now in panic. There were usually 2 or 3 attacks every night and it was rare that the casualty figures were less than a hundred each day.

"It was rare that Voldemort himself lead any of these of course, and by the time we found out he had been seen, he had invariably moved on.

"That was, until he led an attack on the new ministry building. Obviously the aurors that were left were already there and engaged the death eaters straight away, but word quickly got to us that there was an attack. We got there as quickly as we could and our arrival actually put the numbers in our favour for the first time in a long while.

"After fighting for a few minutes, I saw Voldemort not far away. I took this chance to end it and basically walked up behind him and chopped his head off with a sword before he even knew I was there. Anticlimactic, I know, but you've got to admit it's effective. We did, however lose the last of our group on that day before the fight was over."

"The remainder of the wizarding world came out of hiding." Hermione stated. "News travels very fast, and it was only a couple of days until everyone knew what had happened. We were soon inundated with letters from everyone…newspapers wanting interviews, various ministries (including the ones who sat back and watched) wanting to give us awards, average people thanking us…the list goes on. We hated it. After a couple of days, we went to Grimmauld Place which was one of a handful of our properties that was under a Fidelius.

"One morning, about a week after the last fight, we were sitting around and thinking. I made some random comment like 'wouldn't it be great if we could go back and change the past few years' or something like that and Harry came out with this, seemingly ridiculous, idea."

"Hey! It's not that crazy." Harry argued, before explaining. "While we had been studying, which we did whenever we got the chance, I came across a ritual which was, at the same time, both insanely difficult and stupidly simple. It was something that I had been thinking about on and off for a while and Hermione saying that made me want to try it all the more. Basically, it would allow a person to send their mind and magic back in time to any point during their lifetime. This would give them all of the knowledge and abilities that they had at the moment of the ritual only earlier. In order to do this, you needed an area covered in specific runic formations and the same 'sand' that is used in time-turners. 1 grain of sand per person, per day you want to go back…for example if you wanted to send 5 people 100 days back you would need 500 grains of sand.

"After much discussion, we decided to try it. Our world was ruined, our friends and families all dead and, by the end, several million people killed needlessly. By our reckoning we didn't have anything left to lose.

"We spent over a week discussing exactly what we would do…who we would tell (which obviously included you both), what we would deliberately change and when and we came up with a basic plan.

"Now, the only thing that was left was the ritual itself. The runes were no problem, we are both far beyond mastery of the subject, the problem would be the mineral needed. It took us over a month to find enough of it.

"We then chose our destination time carefully and decided when to proceed. In the end we chose to leave on 29th July 2000, and arrived on the same day 9 years previous…29th July 1991. We've each already made some changes, though I'd say mine have been bigger, but there you go…that's the story of our lives, and here we are."

There was a moment of total silence before Hermione spoke up again, "Before you say anything, I want you to remember that we took oaths that this was true, so there can be no question of that. And I also want you to view the memories first as well. There are things in there that neither of us wants to relive, so we will not be coming in with you. We've cut it down to just the important events, so it should only take about an hour and a half to view. As neither of you is magical, you won't be able to come out until it's finished at which point you will leave automatically."

Now, the telling of this story had taken Harry and Hermione almost 5 hours and it was now just before 9:30. For the first few minutes of them speaking, Hermione's parents were silent and listening in the manner of one indulging a small child. Soon after, that changed to a mixture of stunned silence and rapt attention. By the end, they really didn't know what to think. They knew that it must be true, but it was still unbelievable and somewhat surreal.

This was why they each immediately complied with the directions to touch the surface of the memories in the pensieve and were sucked into the sequence of memories that would confirm everything they had just been told, leaving behind their daughter and her friend…no, from what they'd been told, her _husband_…that would take some getting used to.

Once the Grangers were inside the pensieve, Harry and Hermione sat back down and just took a minute to relax…reliving some of those events for the benefit of her parents had not been easy, but it was necessary and so they had forced themselves to continue.

After a couple of minutes had passed, Harry pulled an unresisting Hermione towards him and held her close.

"I've missed you." He whispered to her, getting an unintelligible noise in reply.

Not long after this, though neither was sure who moved first, they were kissing each other, each needing the comfort of the one they loved.

Some time later, having perhaps got too carried away, they adjusted their clothing and put back on what seemed to have gone missing along the way, they began to fill each other in on what they had done over the past few days and discussed what they were going to do next. That and having a couple of drinks took them to the point where her parents were ejected from the memories.

Emotionally drained from everything they had just witnessed, they simply sat down and waited.

Harry was the one to break the silence. "Do you have any questions about what you've just learned?" he asked quietly.

After sharing a brief look with his wife, Robert Granger spoke for both of them. "Not really. This is a lot to take in, and obviously very strange…but I think you've both explained it thoroughly and I think that at least intellectually we both understand the situation though it will probably take some time to fully sink in. Right now, I think the most important question is, what happens now?"

"Well…we have some things that we need to and want to take care of this summer. We _will_ both still be going to Hogwarts, mainly because there are a lot of things that happen there that need to be changed, and it's also the best way for us to meet people that we want to get to re-know…if that makes sense?" said Hermione. "We have knowledge of the future…or more accurately, of one possible future. In order to for that knowledge to be of any use, certain parts of the timeline will have to remain intact and as they were, so we are going to have to be careful. As for the 2 of you…your level of involvement is mostly down to you."

"What do you mean?" asked her mother.

Hermione looked to Harry to explain. "What she means is, if you want to forget about all of this and just go on with your lives, we can make that happen. If you want to keep the knowledge but don't want to have anything to do with us or what we're doing, then that's an option as well. Alternatively there are various ways you could help us…it wouldn't be all of the time and it wouldn't be much but it would still be helping. Look, lets be brutally honest about it…we're getting ready to go back to war. We're trained to fight and to kill. What you saw in the pensieve was, for the most part, the PG-rated version of the war…we've both seen and done things that you probably couldn't even imagine. You aren't prepared to be a part of that. You are dentists by profession, not soldiers, and you didn't grow up having war, torture and death being everyday occurrences. When it comes to the actual fighting, no offence here, but you would be worse than useless…you would be a liability. If you are interested in helping, you could however be involved with the intelligence gathering and organisational side of things to an extent. So, like Hermione said…you're level of involvement is very much up to you."

"I think I speak for both of us," replied Jane, "when I say that we will help you both in any way we can. But I admit that you do have a point Harry. There will be a lot of things that we simply are not capable of helping with. If those memories we saw were the toned down version of events then I would hate to think what the rest of it was like. No, the best solution is probably that we are here for you if and when you need the help, and we'll just see how things go as time goes on."

Somewhat relieved that her parents were taking this so well, Hermione got up and pulled her mum into a hug, whispering "Thank you." Into the older woman's ear.

After a bit of general discussion, everyone agreed to meet there the following morning so they could get started on Harry and Hermione's summer plans and Hermione, Robert and Jane went back to their house for the night.

**Author's Note:**

I apologise for the delay in posting this chapter, but I spent quite a while putting together a sequence of events for the original timeline to have something to work from for this and future chapters.

I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, as I feel the description of events from the future/their past is a bit bland…but I decided I would rather do it that way than via writing out the memories.

Hope you all like it anyway. Let me know what you think. Next chapter should be out within a couple of days and includes a trip to the ministry.


	7. help wanted

Hi everyone, sorry but this isn't a new chapter. I apologise for the delay but I HAVE been working on it when I get chance.

I currently have most of the chapter written either by hand or on computer and will be putting it all together as soon as I can.

However, there is one issue in the chapter that is proving to be a bit of a difficult choice for me. As such I would appreciate it if you could go to my profile page and vote on the poll I am creating.

I won't be doing things like this often, so don't get used to it, but on this one issue I could use the help in deciding. Even so, I reserve the right to go against the result if I choose to, as this story is still ultimately MINE, and I am only looking for suggestions.

Also, this needs to be decided before I can post the next chapter.

Thanks

Hopefully have something ready for you all soon – the next chapter is looking to be about the same length as the last one, maybe a bit longer.

-Josh


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